Representative figures: Li Bai, Du Fu, Bai Juyi, Han Yu
The ability of ancient people to write poems, words and articles absolutely surpassed that of modern people. Vernacular writing is only clear in meaning, easy to understand and easy to popularize knowledge. Writing articles is not as good as classical Chinese in many aspects. It is worth mentioning that the ancients did not understand the vernacular, but only said and could not write.
Second, piano, chess, calligraphy and painting (classical art)
Representative figures: Zhou Yu, Wang Xizhi and Xu Wenchang.
Song is wrong, Gu. In ancient times, not only women played the piano, but also many Confucian scholars knew the melody, and their musical attainments were much higher than those of modern people. Gao once said in a program that Han people have no music and obviously lack common sense, which is nonsense. Ordinary Han people who don't know music should start with the abolition of the imperial examination.
China invented Go very early, and there is a story of Qiu Yi in Mencius. Weiqi is an elegant art in ancient times, and the time and kung fu of playing Weiqi in ancient times are far from those of modern people.
Not to mention the art of calligraphy, not to mention the masters of calligraphy are all ancient. As long as the ancients were scholars, they had to pass the imperial examinations. Let's look at the calligraphy of the ancient champion handed down from generation to generation. Which one is not the highest?
There is no separation between painting and calligraphy in ancient China. Generally speaking, as long as the calligraphy is good, the level of Chinese painting will be high.
Third, study ancient books and antiques.
Because China has a long history, people in every dynasty have a strong interest in the former dynasty and the former dynasty. Of course, the ancients learned ancient books better than modern people, mainly because classical culture was better than modern people. Archaeology and epigraphy have existed in China since the Han Dynasty. Due to technical limitations, ancient archaeology is definitely not as good as modern archaeology, but epigraphy is the study of ancient bronzes and inscriptions, and ancient epigraphy is definitely higher than modern level.
Fourth, morality and etiquette.
Ancient Confucianism had strict requirements on morality and etiquette, which scholars and officials must strictly abide by.
Fifth, loyalty to the monarch and patriotism, national integrity.
It is worth mentioning that nationality is a modern vocabulary, which did not exist in ancient times and the concept of nationality did not form. The ancients were mainly loyal to his dynasty, to the emperor and, of course, to China, but they could not do without loyalty to the monarch. The ancients loved their country more than many people in modern times. In modern times, many people have no concept of country and become internationalists. To put it bluntly, it is a traitor. Instead of benefiting the country where they were born and their ancestors lived, they spoke for the "beacon of democracy" countries everywhere, not what a traitor is.
Six, examination (imperial examination) ability
7, debate, speech, speech and other language skills.
There were military strategists and Yi in the pre-Qin period. After the imperial examination, the imperial examination needs an interview with the emperor himself, and it is difficult to cope with poor language skills. There are also disputes between Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, such as the dispute between Zhu and Lu Jiuyuan in the Southern Song Dynasty. There were many places where language ability was needed in ancient times than in modern times, and the ancients paid more attention to language ability.
Eight, some unique handicrafts in ancient times, such as wooden buildings. The ancients could build houses with wooden tenons and mortises instead of nails.